A small school's Pro day...

this is a discussion within the Saints Community Forum; Tue, Mar 29, 2005
Mike London column: Catawba's Samples, Lynch audition for the NFL
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Carolina Panthers scout is stuck in Denver and can't make it to Catawba College.
But clipboard-toting representatives of the Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, ...

The Carolina Panthers scout is stuck in Denver and can't make it to Catawba College.

But clipboard-toting representatives of the Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, Miami Dolphins, Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers trudge around mushy Shuford Stadium on a peaceful Thursday morning. They are checking out prospects for the NFL draft that will be held April 23-24.

Scouts never know where gold might be discovered. Last year, the Pittsburgh Steelers took Ricardo Colclough, a cornerback from Catawba's rival Tusculum, with the 38th overall pick.

Samples has leadership qualities and an accurate arm, but famous signal-callers like California's Aaron Rodgers and Utah's Alex Smith, who will be drafted in the first few minutes, have probably never heard of Samples, Catawba or the South Atlantic Conference.

Both played in the Cactus Bowl in Kingsville, Texas, the biggest Division II all-star game. Samples was MVP for the winning East, connecting on 14 of 23 passes for 192 yards.

"I was disappointed with my week of practice out there," Samples says. "The game went well, though, even with a real basic offense."

Besides being smart and physical, Samples owns a sense of humor. He and Lynch jump to the front of the line for the 40-yard dashes.

"We want to set the bar high," Samples declares, as his faster ex-teammates chuckle.

Samples isn't a burner. The scouts don't reveal his times because they don't volunteer any information for public consumption.

Samples shrugs.

"Those guys always hold their cards close, but I can tell you I ran a 4.9," he says with a smile. "I'm the most consistent 40-timer in history. Straight line, around curves, on grass, on the track, it doesn't matter.

"Yeah, I'm a 4.9. Hopefully, they're looking for football players, not track stars."

Lynch isn't a track star, either, but he's in fantastic shape. He's flexible and surprisingly quick for a 310-pounder. The scouts notice.

"For three months solid, I prepared for this," Lynch says. "My agent tells me there's about a 10-percent chance I'll be drafted. The thing is to get into someone's camp. Maybe get on a practice squad. And there's NFL Europe."

Lynch, who improved steadily under the guiding hand of former Catawba assistant Mike Bloomgren, is ranked as one the elite D-II O-line prospects, so he may get that chance.

The work Lynch has done over the last few months could make the difference.

"I used to be at the worst end on all the numbers for prospects," he said. "Now my numbers are in the middle of the pack. Middle of the pack is good for me because I've always been a lot better football player than an athlete.

"There are plenty of guys with great times and numbers that can't play football."

You know-this is the way I hope we go later in the draft...instead of getting big name school guys with flaws in their game-late in the draft start drafting guys from smaller schools with more to prove.